Cochran (ID 105415) v. Schnurr

1
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
JAMES M. COCHRAN,
Petitioner,
v. 	CASE NO. 25-3068-JWL
DAN SCHNURR,
Respondent.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This case began in April 2025 when Petitioner and state prisoner James M. Cochran filed
a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 1) and a motion for
leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 2). Neither the petition nor the motion were on the
required, court-approved form, so the Court issued a notice of deficiency (“NOD”) granting
Petitioner 30 days in which to resubmit his petition and motion on the required forms, which were
provided to Petitioner. (Doc. 3.) The NOD expressly cautioned Petitioner that if he “fail[ed] to
comply within the prescribed time, . . . this action may be dismissed without further notice for
failure to comply with this court order.” Id. at 1. The NOD set the deadline for compliance as May
19, 2025. Id. at 2.
The deadline passed and the Court did not receive anything further from Petitioner. Thus,
on May 22, 2025, the Court dismissed this case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for
failure to comply with a court order. (Doc. 4.) The pending motion to proceed in forma pauperis
was denied as moot due to the dismissal. Id. Judgment was entered the same day. (Doc. 5.)
On November 24, 2025, the Court received from Petitioner a second petition for writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 6) and a motion for leave to proceed in forma
Case 5:25-cv-03068-JWL Document 8 Filed 11/25/25 Page 1 of 3

2
pauperis (Doc. 7). Both of these documents are on the required, court-approved forms, and it
appears that Petitioner may have used the forms provided to him with the NOD, as the forms have
the case number 25-3068-JWL preprinted on them. (See Docs. 6 and 7.) This case, however, was
dismissed on May 22, 2025; judgment was entered the same day; and this case has been closed
since that time.
Petitioner has not filed a motion for relief from judgment under Rule 60(b) of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure. That means that this case remains closed. The motion for leave to
proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 7) will be denied as procedurally improper and the Court will
take no further action on the petition (Doc. 6) filed in this case on November 24, 2025.
If Petitioner seeks relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, he should file a petition for writ of habeas
corpus and begin a new federal habeas case. Under Local Rule 9.1(a), a petition for writ of habeas
corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (or 28 U.S.C. § 2241) must be filed on “forms approved by
the court.” See D. Kan. Rule 9.1(a). Accordingly, the Court will direct the clerk to provide to
Petitioner the required form for filing a petition for federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254,
as well as the form Petitioner must use if he wishes to seek leave to proceed in forma pauperis in
his new case. If he chooses to do so, Petitioner may then submit those forms and start a new federal
habeas action in this Court. The Court will then conduct the required review of the petition filed
in the new case and will issue further orders in that case as necessary.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis
(Doc. 7) is denied. Judgment was entered in this case on May 22, 2025 and the case has been
closed since that time. Petitioner has not moved to reopen this case, nor do his current filings
acknowledge that this case is closed. The clerk is directed to provide to Petitioner the forms
Case 5:25-cv-03068-JWL Document 8 Filed 11/25/25 Page 2 of 3

3
required for initiating a new federal habeas action under § 2254, including the required form for
moving for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. This case shall remain closed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: 	This 25th day of November, 2025, at Kansas City, Kansas.
S/ John W. Lungstrum
JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM
United States District Judge
Case 5:25-cv-03068-JWL Document 8 Filed 11/25/25 Page 3 of 3